Preferential loans for poor laborers sent to work abroad

Updated: 09:46’ - 10/07/2015

The Government on July 9 issued a decree introducing new job creation support policies and the National Employment Fund, with specific provisions on policies to support laborers sent to work overseas under contracts.
Under Decree No. 61/2015/ND-CP, laborers from ethnic minority groups, poor households, households living just above the poverty line and households whose agricultural land is recovered and family members of persons with meritorious services to the revolution will be provided with financial aid for vocational training and foreign language study courses and other necessary knowledge for working abroad.
Besides, they may also receive support in getting passports and visas, taking health checks and having their judicial records completed in accordance with the current regulations, assistance for dealing with risks that may occur during the time they work abroad, and financial aid for training and retraining to improve their professional qualifications as required by employers.
The new regulation also facilitates these laborers’ borrowing of loans from the Vietnam Bank for Social Policies. Meanwhile, above-poverty line households and family members of persons with meritorious services to the revolution may take loans from the National Employment Fund to cover all expenses for being sent to work overseas under contracts signed with labor supply enterprises and non-business organizations.
The term of such loans must not exceed these laborers’ contracted duration of working overseas, and the loan interest rate will be equal to that applied to poor households announced by the Government in each period.
The new regulations will take effect on September 1, 2015.-